It's official: I'm a food snob

[rubato]

I didn't realize it until I went to WDW lst month, but I guess I only like really good, high quality food. When paying the prices that one must pay to eat at Disney, quality is expected. We ate at 8 TS restaurants. All but 2 were disappointments. These included: Biergarten, Garden Grill, Chef Mickeys, Donalds Safari Breakfast, Whispering Canyon, and Hoop De Doo(food was bad, show was great). I know these are family style and buffets, but they all stunk! When did it become okay to charge someone $40 for cold and hard food? Plus, the selections weren't very good at any of the buffets.

I loved Citricos. I had the veal and it was wonderful! Plus, our waitress was fantastic! Our last night was Le Cellier. I wasn't blown away by the food, but that was my mistake. I got the Chefs Favorites so I could get an appetizer, and that meant I couldn't get a steak. But, the Spicy Chicken and Chipotle Sausage appetizer was pretty good. If only the salmon had been decent, it would have been a good choice. I live in the Kansas City area, so good steaks are pretty common here.

I won't be getting the dining plan again. In my opinion, the dining plan doesn't make financial sense when doing signature dining. And, I'll only do signature from here on out. I can eat food as good as anything in those 6 restaurants at the local Ponderosa.

 

[JDUCKY]

Ponderosa? I know you're exaggerating but I hear where you're coming from.

But, I've had steak from Citrico's, California Grill, The Wave, and Rose and Crown. I'd take the steak there over, say, a Ruth's Chris any day. All cooked exceptionally well and very tasty, too.

 

[drag n' fly]

Agree

I understand they have to feed thousands everyday but some days the control quality is not there. When you have kids you sometimes do not have time for fine dining and lingering over wine and dessert. Get in and get out. You have to be able to please a wide variety of people. My fav still is california grill during wishes and watching it from the balcony We took our first Disney cruise in 2008. I found the food to be deplorable for what they were charging. We then ate at Palo. That is the kind of quality they should be serving across the whole ship IMO

 

[DisneyPolve]

Donalds Safari Breakfast,

I am surprised you didn't like Tusker House. I hate all buffets but go to Tusker House for DS to see the characters, but I have always found the food rather good considering it is a buffet. I also thought the variety was better then most other buffets at DW.

 

[TDC Nala]

There's not a lot any more that will satisfy a true "food snob" at WDW. It used to be different. For the true food snob, I'd suggest, if you must stay on property, sticking to restaurants outside the parks that are not run by Disney and maybe some of the signature restaurants. There's a few exceptions to the non-Disney-owned rule (Sanaa is one, Turf Club and Kouzzina come to mind - lots of reviewers hated Kouzzina but I didn't). I avoid buffets completely except for Biergarten and was not thrilled with the quality of the chicken schnitzel on my last visit there - usually I love that stuff but it was quite dry this time.

The problem with this advice is that most of the restaurants I'd recommend either don't take the dining plan at all or cost 2 credits per person. It's part of the reason why I don't use the dining plan anymore. And not everyone who goes to WDW has kids. I don't, so I haven't been to a character meal in quite a long time.

 

[Pakey]

I agree with TDC Nala. When the popularity of the dining plan took over, the variety and uniqueness of many dishes at all of the Disney restaurants faded away. My husband and I used to go just to enjoy several evenings of wonderful, quiet dinners with thoughtful course presentation at the places now known as the "signatures" on the dining plan. Now we tend to eat at the places not on the dining plan with a few character meals and counter services thrown in (along with meals in our DVC villa, something we never did in the old days).

I understand the economy of it and it's obvious here on the disboards that the majority of visitors love the dining plan but I miss the old food.

 

[Googilycub]

I happen to enjoy the meals at Disney. I dont go there expecting kobe beef with truffle butter, just a good hot filling meal. Many of the meals I have had went above and beyond my expectations. I would like to go to the Ponderosa that you have been to, beacause the only one I have eaten at was awful. Not at all comparable with any place at Disney. I have had a few meals that were not fabulous, but you have that risk with any place that you go to...not just Disney. I am going to Disney twice this year, and I plan on enjoying my dxdp.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I can be a food snob when the time is right to be one. I don't think a trip to WDW is that time! And I know the meals are high priced and I agree things have really changed since the DDP became the norm for many Disney guests. But then again, I think WDW eateries often do what a "foodie" haven cannot: they cater to a huge variety of guests, often in an atmosphere that cannot be found anywhere else. I take the good with the bad. I don't do the DDP anymore because with a 13 year old dd that has a very small appetite it doesn't make any sense. And I do agree that some of the places serve food that is not worth the credits or the OOP price. So I avoid those, stick with the places that serve food I enjoy very much in an atmosphere I love and get my food snob bases covered here at home at restaurants where I can get an exceptional meal for half the price I'd pay at Disney.

Given the amount of people they feed, they do pretty well in my book.

But I do understand that it can be very disappointing to some people to pay that much for what they get as far as food goes and I know some of you have eaten at WDW for many years and have memories of days long gone now that the DDP has changed the whole game.

I also have to say, I want your Ponderosa! The one near to me made my kid's school cafeteria seem wonderful.

 

[DVCRon]

The reason the prices are high have nothing to with the food quality but the venue. When you go to a baseball game and get that overpriced hot dog and beer it's not because you are expecting fine dining but rather you get to eat it while enjoying the game.

You are paying for the Disney atmosphere as well as the food.

There are still a few places which cater to those looking for a high quality meal: Citricos, Victoria and Albert's, California Grill, the old Spoodles, Sanaa, etc.

Disney is catering to the masses and they do a decent job of it while filling almost all of their restaurants to capacity.

 

[disney_girl125]

Glad i'm not the only one! I went to Disney in December and wasn't blown away by any of the ts meals I had there except one..Ohana. Ohana is our favorite. I have been to all of the popular places and none were good enough to go back to.

 

[OKWAnneMarie]

I agree with TDC Nala. When the popularity of the dining plan took over, the variety and uniqueness of many dishes at all of the Disney restaurants faded away. My husband and I used to go just to enjoy several evenings of wonderful, quiet dinners with thoughtful course presentation at the places now known as the "signatures" on the dining plan. Now we tend to eat at the places not on the dining plan with a few character meals and counter services thrown in (along with meals in our DVC villa, something we never did in the old days).

I understand the economy of it and it's obvious here on the disboards that the majority of visitors love the dining plan but I miss the old food.

I totally agree! The quality has gone downhill, except for a few "Signature" restaurants. I will be going back to Flying Fish, Artist Point and Jiko very soon. I hope they are still enjoyable.

 

[jakenjess]

I agree that food is expensive and sometimes not that great, but we've also had some wonderful meals there. The places you didn't care for I would think of more as "atmosphere" restaurants. I'm not a buffet fan anytime, but we went when the kids were younger to see the characters. I'm not in any rush to go back! I've always had a decent meal at Whispering Canyon and Hoop de Doo, but it's really the entertainment factor that I go for. I agree that next time you should try maybe some signature restaurants and peruse these boards for dining reviews that appeal to you. Sorry you were disappointed!

 

[Kay1]

Until a few short years ago the food was quite good and IMO, fairly reasonably priced. There are still a few things that I think are good and are even bargains but those things are few and far between.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Welcome to the "Dark Side"
Here's a few reasons to eat snob food....

1.ADRs,there's nothing like not standing in line and eating inside during hot,rainy or cold days.

2.Not having to eat at a table that plates occasionally stick to

3.Being able to eat food that is fresh&warm and suits my tastes rather than cardboard pizza or mystery burger.

4.3 courses do not equal fries,sandwich and a churro.

5.The inside theming is often as cool as the queue theming.

 

[rubato]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad I'm not alone. Part of our reasoning with all the buffets and family style this time was for our son who was 10. So, I knew this was probably our last trip with lots of characters. But, even my son was disappointed in the food quality. (He did still get that magical smile when the characters came up and at HDD.

We WILL be doing signature next time, just not every night. If we don't do the dining plan, we can actually justify it easier. I can get an appetizer and a glass of wine instead of an overly sweet dessert. We are also going to stay somewhere with a kitchen, either our RV or a villa. So, we can either do a signature restaurant or cook for ourselves.

I do also have to say that we LOVED Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch one day. That's my kind of CS restaurant. Of course, being on the dining plan, we had enough for breakfast the next day also, which was fine by me!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

You are definitely not alone Rubato. Food snob here and very proud of it. Disney, years back went out of its way to bring good food to the experience to lure adults and locals alike.

There were true executive chefs, and food truly representative of the countries represented in the world showcase.

No more. It's all about process, and pushing people through now, nothing more elaborate than a glorified McDonald's for the most part.

So, no we no longer go to WDW resorts, or parks for "dining" experiences. We take our dining budget to the wonderful options outside of Disney and enjoy our "food snob" selves in proper fashion!

Seriously, I am so with you. $40 for inedible food? Unacceptable, regardless of the "venue."

 

[cw21726]

I've found that on this board, for the most part, people will suspend disbelief and buy into the Disney magic hook, line, and sinker. Especially when it comes to food. The fact of the matter is, for me at least, the Signature restaurants are pretty good and the rest are just average or worse.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I've found that on this board, for the most part, people will suspend disbelief and buy into the Disney magic hook, line, and sinker. Especially when it comes to food. The fact of the matter is, for me at least, the Signature restaurants are pretty good and the rest are just average or worse.

I totally agree. Which is why, for our honeymoon, we are eating at quite a few off site restaurants.
I have been doing my research.
ANd yes , we are "food snobs".

 

[prttynpnk]

We're to the point where we would rather eat only signature too. I work at a hospital- if I wanted more cafeteria chicken fingers I could eat more cheaply at home.

 

[jenjersnap]

I've found that on this board, for the most part, people will suspend disbelief and buy into the Disney magic hook, line, and sinker. Especially when it comes to food. The fact of the matter is, for me at least, the Signature restaurants are pretty good and the rest are just average or worse.

This is where I fall too. It's also why we prefer the Deluxe dining plan - we do a signature every night and a character breakfast for the kids where I mostly stick to the basics of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and Mickey waffles.